Skip to main content

Thomasina Miers’ recipe for courgette and lamb boats

When it comes to developing children’s palates, I have come to a few conclusions. The more you involve them in the cooking and seasoning of food, whether that’s a squeeze of lime or a sprinkling of herbs, the more interested they are. Exposing them to a range of tastes early on, and with the least fuss, means they are more prepared to try something new. And every child likes different things, which is fine; one of mine is a carb queen, one likes nothing more than a bowl of salad leaves, while the third loves meat. If you are largely cooking from scratch with whole, seasonal ingredients, your children will be eating well.


Courgette and lamb boats

The more you get children slicing, stirring and seasoning, the more likely they are to eat it all up.

Prep 30 min
Cook 1 hr
Serves 8-12

4-6 large courgettes
3 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
Salt and black pepper
40g pine nuts
50g raisins
400g minced lamb
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp allspice, ground
2 ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
1 pinch sugar (if required)
Seeds from ½ pomegranate, to serve
1 handful each mint and parsley, roughly chopped, to serve

For the garlic yoghurt
1 small garlic clove
400g Greek-style yoghurt
3 tsp tahini

Heat the oven to 200C (180C fan)/gas 6. Cut the courgettes in half lengthways, then run a knife around the inside edge of each one, leaving a 5mm border. Make small, crisscross cuts across the middle of the courgettes, then use a teaspoon to scoop out the flesh – children can help with this bit. Set the flesh aside for another use and put the boats on a baking tray.

Put a saucepan over a medium heat and warm the oil. Add the onions, garlic and a pinch of salt, and fry gently for 10 minutes until soft. Add the pine nuts and raisins, then continue to fry for a few more minutes, to colour the nuts.

Turn the heat up to medium-high, add the lamb and spices, then season. Saute until the meat is nicely browned. Add the chopped tomatoes.

Take off the heat and stir through the pomegranate molasses. Get your helpers to taste and adjust the seasoning with a dash more molasses and a pinch of sugar or salt. Spoon into the courgette boats and roast for 30‑35 minutes, until they are golden and tender.

Meanwhile, make the garlic yoghurt. Bash the garlic clove with something heavy to release the skin (children love doing this), then crush with a pinch of salt. Add to a bowl with the yoghurt, tahini and a few splashes of water to loosen, and mix. Drizzle the yoghurt mix over the boats, scatter with pomegranate seeds and herbs, and serve with nutty brown or red rice.
And for the rest of the week

The minced lamb is delicious with flatbreads. For a weekend lunch, serve alongside a chopped cucumber and onion salad, and juicy ripe tomatoes seasoned with plenty of za’atar, red-wine vinegar and olive oil.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Nigel Slater’s za’atar lamb recipe

The recipe Mix 2 tbsp of olive oil with 2 tbsp of za’atar spice mix. Brush over 6 lamb cutlets and set aside. Put 4 tbsp of bulgur wheat into a small dish, trickle over just enough water to dampen it and leave for 10 minutes. Remove the seeds from a pomegranate and put them in a mixing bowl. Top and tail 10 radishes and slice them into thin rounds, then add to the pomegranates. Put 2 tbsp of good, fruity olive oil in a small bowl, add 2 tsp of ground sumac, 1 tbsp of pomegranate molasses and the juice of a lemon. Pick the leaves from 6 sprigs of mint and 10 sprigs of parsley, then add them to the pomegranates. Run a fork through the grains and toss them with the salad and dressing. Grill the lamb cutlets for a few minutes on each side, then serve them with the salad. The trick Let the cutlets sit for a good 20 minutes in the za’atar spice mix before grilling. Use an overhead grill, and take care not to let the spice burn. The twist Add chopped cucumber or apple to th...
Post a Comment
Read more

Rachel Roddy’s farro, pumpkin and chestnut soup recipe

Today’s recipe was made from gifts: a packet of vacuum-sealed chestnuts I was given to taste, a bundle of sage from an friend’s garden in Camden brought back to Rome in my rucksack, and a bag of farro from the best wine merchant in Rome, Antonio, who got it from Pacina in Castelnuovo Beradenga in Tuscany, where it grows abundantly. An early form of wheat, and sometimes called emmer wheat (not to be confused with spelt, which is also wheat, but a different genetic variation), farro was a staple grain in early Roman times thanks to its transportability, high protein content, vitamins and slow release of energy. Roman soldiers marched, built and fought on farro, I tell my legionnaire- and gladiator-fixated son, who doesn’t look keen, pushing away the “funny rice”. Looking like a cross between a caraway seed and grape pip when dry, farro does look rather like plump and sturdy brown rice when cooked. It has a mild, nutty taste, and it is this inherent nuttiness that some people dislike ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Meera Sodha’s recipe for vegan mushroom bao

here is genuine pleasure to be had in things that feel just right: the weight of a pound coin, a bath at the perfect temperature, the feel of a well-worn wooden spoon. To this list, I’d add bao: it’s as if this little bun was ergonomically designed for eating – it fits snugly into the nook of a hand; the pillowy dough gives like memory foam; and the semi-circular shape slots cleanly into the mouth. It’s no surprise that these buns – thanks to Bao, the Soho restaurant, a bit of social media hype and our ever-growing appetite for new tastes and cultures – have become popular in the UK. Especially in the Sodha household. Ordinarily, the buns are made with milk and the fillings are porcine, but this recipe uses neither. The bun is filled with some of the finest mushrooms in the land, shiitake, which are coated in sesame and soy, covered with sharp cucumbers and finished with a smattering of salty peanuts. It’s everything you need and nothing you don’t. Mushroom bao This is a good wee...
Post a Comment
Read more